Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 4 · Verse 7
BG 4.7
Verse 7 of Chapter 4 — The Yoga of Knowledge.
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata | abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham ||
Sanskrit / Transliteration
TRANSLATION
Whenever there is a decline in righteousness, O Bharata, and a predominant rise of unrighteousness — at that time I manifest Myself in this world.
EXPLANATION
The avatara verse. Krishna establishes that divine intervention is not a one-time historical event but a recurring principle: whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, a manifestation of the divine appears to restore balance. This verse gives the Gita's own frame for understanding Krishna's presence on the battlefield — he is not merely a warrior-guide, but an embodied expression of the divine order restoring itself. Every genuine spiritual teacher, liberating insight, and moment of grace participates in this same pattern.